A typical light pipe is a clear plastic part which conveys light from one location to another. In the context of electronic equipment, manufacturers commonly use light pipes to carry light from light emitting diodes (LEDs) on circuit boards to front panels or faceplates which are viewable by users of the electronic equipment. Accordingly, the manufacturers can enable the users to obtain useful visual information directly from the LEDs of the circuit boards even if the LEDs are nestled deeply behind the front panels or faceplates.
It should be understood that there may be situations in which light from one LED can be inadvertently captured by the wrong light pipe. For example, suppose that a red LED resides next to an amber LED on a particular circuit board. Further suppose that a first light pipe is designed to convey light from the red LED to a front panel, and that a second light pipe is designed to convey light from the amber LED to the front panel.
If the pitch between the two LEDs is very small, the light from the amber LED may be captured by the first light pipe which is designed to convey light from the red LED to the front panel. This problem is commonly referred to as “bleed-through”. As a result, the user may misinterpret the light from the first light pipe as being light from the red LED even though that light is actually from the amber LED. Moreover, the light from the amber LED will tend to look almost red and thus could be indistinguishable by the user. Thus, there is a threat that the user could incorrectly read the information from the circuit board.